A day trip to remember

Three days ago I arrived in South Africa, I jumped out of the plane, excited and so damn ready to see as much of this wonderful and diverse country as possible. By joining the Baz Bus Cape Peninsula Day Tour, I knew I would see the best the Cape Peninsula had to offer. Checking out the schedule, this day tour seemed to be very well planned and organized: First stop in Hout Bay, home of the Duiker Island Seal Colony, next a light morning snack within the route of Chapman’s Peak Drive. Next stop Simon’s Town, visiting the Boulders Beach Penguin Colony. Then moving further South to the Cape Peninsula Nature Reserve to have a scenic cycle and a tasty lunch. And last but not least, checking out the Cape Point Lighthouse and the worldwide-famous Cape of Good Hope.

Being taught how to enjoy life

Arriving at our first stop, we could either choose between staying onshore and exploring Hout Bay harbour or joining an optional boat cruise to the seal colony at Duiker Island. Personally I wouldn’t want to miss out on seeing the seals (they’re so adorable!), so I stepped on board as quickly as possible. Fortunately for us the sea was calm on the day, the cruise was relaxing and the boat gently swayed with the light waves. The bay is bordered by pretty little beaches, sweepingly high mountains and hills covered with lush fynbos. This smiling landscape is eye-catching and was a wonderful and quiet start into the day.

The boat cruise was incredibly enjoyable and I was fascinated by the hundreds of roaring seals that inhabited Duiker Island.

If there’s one thing these fluffy furry little fellas mastered perfectly, it is: Simply to enjoy life! As I watched the seals sunbathing in the sun, cosily rolling themselves from one side to another, others happily splashing around in the deep blue water, I was thinking to myself: Damn, I should do that more often! Without a doubt, these cuddly animals are an incomparable example on how to have a perfect lazy day in the sunshine – and by doing that; they ‘“sealed”’ my weekend plans.

As it is your own decision whether to join this optional boat cruise or not, I would definitely recommend spending R110 on this pretty impressive experience. Hout Bay Harbour itself is undeniably beautiful and offers plenty of other things to do for people with motion sickness.

When nature leaves you speechless

We bordered the bus and continued our trip to Chapman’s Peak Drive, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful scenic drives around the world. I visited Melbourne last year and I knew that it would be quite hard to impress me after already seeing the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia.

My jaw dropped!

Even though I am no freshman when it comes to incredible landscapes, Chapman’s Peak Drive left me speechless. It is not an exaggeration to say that this drive crosses an area of indescribable inherent natural beauty.

To my pleasure, Baz Bus stopped in this wonderful setting, to have a light snack. As I sat there, a blueberry muffin in my right hand, a glass of orange juice in my left hand and a breathtakingly pretty view in front of me, I started wondering: Can this day get any better? I didn’t know how close I was to finding out that it most definitely can!

Getting real close

Once we arrived at Boulders Beach, home of hundreds of Jackass penguins, I already had a slight sense that this would definitely be an absolute highlight of my trip to South Africa. I can’t help but adore these cute black and white suited birds. As penguins usually prefer to settle down on places more sealed off from the access of human beings, it is quite special for this colony to call Boulders Beach their home. These little guys actually seem to enjoy the attention of their numerous excited visitors and I absolutely enjoyed watching them as well – so entertaining!

Depending on how much time you have on that day, you could also leave the fences of Boulders Beach Sanctuary for a couple of minutes and explore a quieter beach next ­door. Just ask your tour guide to point you in the direction of this “secret” spot! By doing this, I was rewarded with the chance to get closer to a few penguins. Luckily, they welcomed me immediately and let me join their private sunbathing session.

The penguins at Simon’s Town are so used to their human visitors that usually they don’t mind having people around them. However, if they give you any sign of refusal, better bow out and let them have their space. In the end, this is the penguin’s habitat and we are the ones visiting, so it is our responsibility to respect their need of peace. You can always ask your Baz Bus tour guide any questions about the behaviour and habits of this species. In my case, they acted something between curious, excited and ‘“Ugh, whatever!’” when coming closer.

Battling mother nature

As we moved further through Table Mountain Nature Reserve, I knew it was about time for a classic part of the Baz Bus Day Tour – the 6 kilometre downhill cycle. As we hopped off the bus and waited for the bikes to be offloaded, there were two different things that kept me entertained: The unique beauty of the place where we stopped – wide endless fields of bush, sprinkled with uncountable different shades of green, surrounded by mountains and hills – and the unbelievable strong wind blowing and turning your hair into a total disaster. The wind also turned a usually easy cycle into a mini battle against Mother Nature. It was fun and trust me, when you’ve beaten that wind, damn you will be starving!

Even though the cycle is supposed to be quickly done within 30 minutes, it took me much longer. Reason for that: Crossing the Nature Reserve, I couldn’t resist but had to stop for a few pictures to appreciate the amazing landscape.

One thing you have to keep in mind when jumping on your bike: shortly after the cycle begins, the tour guide and the driver are sneakily going to catch up on you to take a shot of you riding your bike. So don’t forget to keep that one million dollar smile on your face – I totally failed on that task and this picture is going to haunt me on Facebook for the rest of my life!

So far away from home

After some salad, some fruit and a few rolls (Don’t worry, there is no chance you will leave Baz Bus hungry!) the journey continued to the Cape Point Lighthouse. You will have to take a few stairs to get up there; I enjoyed the hike very much. Not just because it is easy to handle physically, but also because of the amazing view from up above that gets better with every step you take. This pushes you forward, no matter how much you may hate stairs.

When I finally reached the lighthouse, the wind was blowing even harder and the force of nature became impressive. I definitely wouldn’t recommend wearing a hat, a cap or anything easily losable while climbing the last few steps upstairs (Yes, lady with that obvious wig, I’m looking at you!). For sure, not every day is a windy day. But during the Cape Peninsula Tour, I really got to know the typical Western Cape winds and I can tell you – don’t underestimate them! If you don’t want to be freezing like me, better bring a light jacket, just in case. However, being up there was breath-taking.

Due to the post reminding you of how far away from home you are, it is a unique experience especially for people travelling from another continent – for example 9623 kilometres to London is quite a statement for visitors from Europe. Somehow, this awareness didn’t frighten me at all. There is some kind of peacefulness coming from your surroundings that envelopes you while up there.

A gate to another world

Unfortunately, every wonderful day has to come to an end. And in my opinion, the end of the Baz Bus Cape Peninsula Tour is quite epic. As we reached the Cape of Good Hope, the most South Western point of the African continent, the awareness of where you are becomes overwhelming. Walking along the beach and the mountains, looking across the ocean and knowing that beyond the horizon, there is nothing else left except for the Antarctica… made me contemplative. For me personally, visiting the Cape of Good Hope didn’t just mean taking a picture at the famous signboard, which of course I also did (Pics or it didn’t happen!). But essentially, it was an occasion to backpedal and appreciate the beauty of this place, the uniqueness of the moment and the absolute breath-taking diversity of this wonderful country. If I hadn’t already fallen in love with South Africa, it would have happened now!

My experiences with Baz Bus

Looking back at the amazing day I’ve spent all over the Cape Peninsula, I can gladly give Baz Bus five stars for that tour. I have been blessed with a lovely tour guide and a hilarious driver. Do you know why the Beatles won’t ever climb a mountain? If you get Freddy as your driver, he is going to give you the answer enthusiastically.